


The Precipice of Choice-Part II

by nans56



Series: Precipice of Choice [2]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2019-11-16 09:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18091463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nans56/pseuds/nans56
Summary: “If you fucking walk out that door don’t come back,” Leo bellowed so loudly that the Oval office door flew open and the President stepped in with an angry retort on his lips but stopped short when he saw Leo and Margaret facing off.





	1. The Stand Off

**Author's Note:**

> Although for some reason this states it is Part 3 it is in fact Part 2 of the series.

The Stand Off

Leo/Margaret  
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing for a bit.  
MATURE-For language

 

Leo’s forward momentum almost propelled him into the door as he put on the brakes. He stumbled and looked around confused. The door to his office was closed and locked. He dropped his briefcase and grumbled as he reached for his keys and unlocked the door.  
‘Where the hell was Margaret?’ He was already tired and grumpy and the day had not even begun. As usual he was not sleeping, and when he did manage to pass out for a few hours he was plagued by dreams. Dreams of ‘Nam, dreams of Rosslyn and dreams of Margaret. The dreams of her were the ones that left him the most confused and flustered. He’d learned to live with the dreams of Vietnam; they were almost old friends. He was getting used to the Rosslyn dreams too, but the dreams of Margaret were too new, too overwhelming. Too…just too.  
Leo walked back out to Margaret’s desk and looked out and down the hallway. “Dammit. Where the hell is she?” He wasn’t even sure where to check for his schedule for the day. He glanced at the neat, almost bare desktop, then on top of the filing cabinets. No schedule. Now he was just getting pissed. He strode back into his office and sat at his desk. “And I need a cup of damn coffee,” he muttered out loud.  
“Well just hold yer damn horses,” Margaret’s voice bellowed back. Leo jumped up and hurried into her office. “Where the hell were you?”  
“Don’t start with me Leo McGarry. Just don’t.”  
“Start what? Yer late!”  
“The traffic was terrible. And besides, it’s 6:15! Technically I am 45 minutes early.” She threw her coat on her chair, faced Leo with her hands on her hips and just glared at him.  
“Yeah, whatever. Coffee,” he yelled and spun on his foot and went into his office.  
Margaret left and went to the nearest bullpen to see if someone had put on the coffee yet. She saw a pot brewing so she grabbed a paper cup, pulled out the pot and held the cup under the basket until it was full. She replaced the pot and strode back to her office. She went into Leo’s office and just barely was able to place the cup on the desk without dumping it on him.  
“What? Where is my mug? What is this?” He took a sip of the coffee and spit it back in the cup. “Gaaahhh. What the hell is this?”  
Margaret took the cup from him, dropped it in the waste basket, left his office and slammed the door. Leo sat starring at the door, unsure of what had just happened. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. Things were going nowhere fast and he didn’t know what to do. He felt like he was on a roller coaster that had lost its brakes and he was careening out of control. Either he or Margaret was going to kill the other and he was pretty sure he was toast.  
His door flew open and banged on the wall. Josh entered the office looking over his shoulder at Margaret like she had grown an extra head. He was followed by Toby who had a smirk on his face, Sam who almost jumped into the room and CJ who was wide eyed with curiosity. They all jumped when the door slammed shut again.  
Leo sat in his chair, wide eyed himself, speechless. CJ glared at him. “Leo. What the hell did you do?”  
He fell back in the chair again and closed his eyes. “God, I wish I knew.”  
“It must have been BAD, Leo. How can you not know? I have never seen her this mad.”  
“I said I don’t know. Now drop it. Josh? You have meetings on the hill today? I want results. Don’t screw with anybody today. Just find out what Haffley wants and report back. Toby?”  
“Just the Des Moines speech.”  
“Fine. I’d like to see a draft by tonight. CJ? Anything?”  
“A couple, but nothing that needs your attention yet.”  
“Fine. Go away,” he said and leaned back in his chair starring at them until they left. Margaret walked in, dropped a pile of messages on his desk and left slamming the door. He jumped when the door slammed and wondered if this day was survivable.

It was 2:00 in the afternoon and Leo was running on fumes. He went and got his own coffee from the mess twice while he was returning from meetings. There was no chance of lunch and he was starving. Margaret had not spoken to him yet and was leaving Post It notes on his desk in lieu of speech. And now the file he needed for the next meeting had disappeared off his desk.  
“Margaret, where is my HUD file? I need it NOW,” Leo bellowed as he shuffled papers and files on his desk. “MARGARET. FILE.” He looked up and she was standing in the doorway.  
“WELL? Where is it?”  
“I put it on your desk before you went to the meeting with Burns at twelve. I said, ‘here is the HUD file for later’. You said fine. So YOU lost it in that trash pile you call a desk.”  
“It’s not here. You must have moved it.”  
“I did not move it. I have not touched your desk all day.”  
“Bullshit…”  
“Don’t swear at me Leo McGarry. Just don’t.”  
“What the hell are you gonna do about it, huh? God dammit all to hell, what the hell is wrong with you?”  
“ME? What is wrong with me? You rude, profane, mean, son of a bitch! You drive me crazy. What the hell is wrong with you? Find your own damn file.” She turned to leave. Leo swept his desk clear in a rage and slammed his hands onto the now empty top.  
“If you fucking walk out that door don’t come back,” Leo bellowed so loudly that the Oval office door flew open and the President stepped in with an angry retort on his lips but stopped short when he saw Leo and Margaret facing off.  
“FINE. Go to hell you rotten old bastard,” Margaret screamed as she ran from the room. The President hurried over to Margaret’s office just in time to see her grab her purse and run down the hall.  
“Follow her. Now,” he pointed down the hall, glaring at Leo.  
“What,” Leo gasped as he sat down?  
“She left, Leo. Follow her now. I do not know what the hell is going on with you two, but you better fix this. She is gonna leave you and I am beginning to think she should. FIX THIS.” He went back to the Oval and slammed the door. Leo jumped up and went to Margaret’s office and saw her coat still there, just her purse was gone. He hurried to the front check in and found that Margaret had indeed checked out. “Did you see which way she went?”  
The guard pointed to the right and Leo rushed outside. He followed the side walk to Pennsylvania Ave and saw her far ahead walking to the east. It had to be her. Few women had her hair color. He followed as quickly as his bum leg would let him, hoping he didn’t lose her. When he got to Madison he looked left and spied her head down the street. By the time he got to H street she had crossed and was walking down Vermont and had crossed I Street and was walking into McPherson Square when he approached I St. She had disappeared from sight by the time he cut through McPherson and got to K street.  
He leaned over with his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths and rubbed his knee. He looked left then right and saw her a half block down on K street. He reached 14th street as she crossed into the park. He stopped on the NW corner and watched her as she slowed her pace and finally stopped and sat on a bench near the fountain in the middle of the park. She hugged her purse to her middle and leaned back on the bench and sighed.  
Leo kept walking on K until 13th street and then moved into the park and sat on a bench where could watch her. He didn’t know what to do, what to say, if he should do or say anything. Should he go and apologize? Should he let her belt him? Nah. She hit hard. He sat back and blew out a breath. ‘What the hell? God, I know what I want to tell her and THAT would cause more problems than it would solve. For sure he’d get hit.  
He watched Margaret as she just sat and stared out over the park. For thirty minutes he watched her and then the smell of hot dogs made his stomach grumble, loudly. He looked over at the line of food trucks along 13th street and then got up and wandered over. He got two Diet Cokes and put them in his suit coat pockets and took the two dogs he bought and covered them in relish, mustard and ketchup.  
He walked over to the bench where Margret was still sitting and sat. He set one of the cans of soda and a wrapped hot dog on the bench next to her, then set his on the bench between them. He just sat looking at his feet until he felt her eyes on him. He looked up and her electric blue eyes were wide and confused. They just stared at each other for minutes until a honking horn invaded the moment and they both looked down. Leo picked up his Coke and popped the tab open and sat it next to her. He grabbed her Coke and opened it and took a drink. He leaned back on the bench and stared ahead at the park.  
A minute later Margaret took a drink and then set the can down. “You know a hot dog is a piss poor apology.”  
“Yeah.”  
“There are not enough hot dogs in the world to make up…” she sighed.  
“Yeah.”  
“What the hell are we doing, Leo?”  
“I have no fucking idea, Margaret.”  
“That’s not the answer I was looking for.”  
“Yeah.”  
She reached down and picked up the hot dog unwrapped it and took a bite. Leo did the same and they ate in silence. He finished first and balled up the white paper wrapper in his fist. When she finished he grabbed her paper and balled it up too and walked them over to the trash can across from where they sat. Leo came back and sat and stared at his feet again.  
“Thanks for the lunch, Leo. I was hungry.”  
“Yeah, sure. I was too.”  
“Leo?”  
“Yeah?”  
“We really need to talk.”  
“Yeah.”  
“I don’t understand what is happening.”  
“Yeah. I know.”  
“Do you?”  
“Yeah. No. Yeah, kinda.”  
“Walk back with me?”  
“Yeah.” Leo stood and Margaret slipped her arm in his as they started to walk back to the White House. Leo had his hands deep in his pant pockets as they walked, Margaret clutched his arm with her right hand and her purse with her left. They walked slowly back the way they had come, not talking, just walking, each deep in thought. Margaret was pleased he had followed her. Leo was glad she was talking to him. Both wondered if they could tell the truth and where it would lead them.  
When they got back to the west wing of the White House and checked in, eyes followed them as they walked through the halls back to Leo’s office. He still had his hands in his pockets and Margaret still held his arm. They didn’t acknowledge the looks that followed them. Everyone knew the blow up this time had been monumental. They were amazed to see them come back together. The hubbub of voices resumed as they passed by and returned to Leo’s office.  
Margaret stayed in her office as Leo went into his. He sat in his chair and waited for Margaret to come in with the revised schedule for the afternoon. They had blown it out of the water by leaving and it would take the rest of the day to get it back in hand, but they could do it. They worked as a team, a perfectly coordinated team. Leo sighed. Margaret came in with messages and the meetings he had to take the rest of the day.  
“Thank you, Margaret.”  
“You bet, Leo.” Margaret went back to her office to resume her work and left Leo reading. A few minutes later she came back into his office and stood before his desk. He looked up patiently with a wan smile.  
“Hey, Leo. What’s the difference between a hippo and a zippo?”  
Leo smiled and dropped his head with a groan. “I don’t know Margaret. What?”  
“One is really heavy and the other is a little lighter.” She waited. He smiled. He lifted his eyes to hers.  
“Thanks Margaret.”


	2. It's Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You can’t possibly know. I don’t know. I think I know, but I am not sure, if it’s just some weird phenomenon, or a dream, or senility or indigestion, fer God’s sake…”

It’s Complicated  
Leo/Margaret  
Disclaimer: Not mine…Aaron owns ‘em.  
MATURE-

It had been just over a week since they had their monumental blow up. They had both walked on egg shells all week, each going out of their way to be polite and calm and quiet. Leo had forgotten one night at 9:30 and bellowed her name, jumping to his feet before he had finished and rushing to her door to apologize. She had almost laughed out loud at the stricken look on his face. Then the next night it was she who had let her temper blow after he asked for the seventh file in a row.  
“Dammit. I have been up and down like a jack in the box…” she had begun then slapped her hand over her mouth and fled the office for the bathroom and a huge pile of toilet paper to catch the tears. Leo was waiting when she got back with a blueberry muffin from the mess that had been fresh that morning and was now a little bedraggled looking; she took it anyway with a wan smile.  
Now, 10:30 on Friday night, he was exhausted. Not just from a busy week, but from the exhausting effort it took to not yell, slam his hand on the desk or complain loudly about anything and everything. He was a bubbling cauldron of tension and he honestly felt if he didn’t yell soon he might just explode all over the damn office.  
He jumped to his feet, slamming the chair into the credenza under the window causing the computer to rock precariously. He stepped from behind the desk and paced the room with his head down, thinking furiously. It took minutes before he saw Margaret leaning in the doorway to her office, arms folded, head tilted to the side, watching. He stopped and stared back at her and blushed.  
‘Now why the hell is he blushing,’ she wondered?  
‘God, she is beautiful. How have I gone this long without realizing just how beautiful she is,’ he wondered as he stared at her?  
They stood in the office, staring, wondering, for a long time, their eyes locked, breathing in rhythm together. Leo was the first to move, going over to the corridor door, closing it, locking it. Margaret then stepped all the way into the office, closing and locking the door behind her. Leo locked the door to the Oval. The stepped toward each other, meeting in the middle of the room, stopping one foot apart; staring, still. Wondering, still. Breathing, still.  
Leo took a deep shuddering breath and looked down at his feet, then raised his eyes back to hers. “We need to talk. About things. About…about…”  
“We do,” Margaret answered.  
“Not here.”  
“Where?”  
“I don’t know.”  
“What about…?”  
“Nah. How about…?”  
“Too busy.”  
“Yeah.”  
“Are you…?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Okay. When?”  
“Now?”  
“Okay.”  
“Get yer coat.”  
“Okay.”  
Leo took her coat and held it for her then put on his coat. They locked up the office and walked thru the corridors, shoulders inches apart, looking straight ahead, silent. They swiped out and walked to Leo’s waiting car. He opened the door for her and then followed her in, sitting as far from her in the back seat as he could. She looked at him with questioning eyes. He just shook his head and spoke to Eddie.  
“Old Ebbitt’s, Eddie.”  
Margaret flinched and stared at him. “It’s always so busy there. How will we be able to talk?”  
“It will be noisy and it is public enough no one will think twice about us catching dinner after work. Besides I have been craving the jumbo crab cakes.”  
“Whatever. I think it’s too public.”  
“That’s the point, Margaret.”  
“Oh, so I can’t belt you in a public place?”  
“I am hoping you will not belt me, or yell, or whatever…dammit. I want to eat. We can talk and enjoy dinner like normal people. If you feel the need to smack me, save it for the car.”  
“Fine.”  
Leo chuckled. He really did hope she would refrain from belting him by being in a public spot. What he had to say could get him hit. He wanted it in the open tonight...later they would talk more privately. 

They were seated in a small booth across from the Old Bar as Leo requested. A waiter took their drink orders while Margaret looked at the menu. Leo looked at her. She knew Leo was looking at her and she lifted the menu higher to hide from his gaze. He reached out and with a finger pulled down on the menu until he could see her eyes.  
“What are you doing?”  
“Studying the menu.”  
“Okaaaayyyy.” Leo smiled as she lifted the menu again. The waiter came with their drinks; a tonic and lemon for Leo and iced tea for Margaret. He asked if they were ready to order. Leo looked at Margaret. He nodded. He tilted his head.  
“Oh. I will have the grilled Salmon salad,” she said, ducking her head as she set the menu down.”  
“Yes, ma’am. And for you Mr. McGarry?”  
“Yes, Alan, I will have the crab cakes, as usual.”  
“Yes, sir. And the fries extra crispy?”  
“Yes. Thank you for remembering.”  
“Yes sir.”  
“You know his name,” Margaret said as she looked at him with a wide expression?  
“I do like it here. I like the crab cakes. I am probably here at least once a month.”  
“When do you find the time? I never get out to eat.”  
“I get out a few times a month, usually a working lunch with someone. You don’t often know the details of my lunch meetings when I meet with people from the hill. Sometimes we go out for those meetings. Jealous,” he asked with a grin?  
“Just that I did not know some of those meetings turned into restaurant meals. What if I needed to reach you and you were not in a congressman’s office, but at a restaurant?”  
“Margaret. You would call my cell phone and I would answer.”  
“Yeah. Right. Okay.” She sat back, thinking. ‘Jealous? Damn right!’

“I wanted us to talk, Margaret. Do you want to talk? I know we have been in a weird place lately. I know I have been…well…ya know.”  
“You have been downright spooky lately, Leo.”  
“Uh…yeah…”  
“Leo, you stare at me like I have two heads sometimes, saying nothing, then ten minutes later you take said heads off; yelling and bellowing. You mope, and skulk, and complain…and yell some more. I can’t take it anymore,” her voice started to rise and she looked to make sure no one heard her.  
“I know,” Leo said as he stared at his hand twisting the tonic and lemon the waiter had placed on the table. He sat up straight and looked Margaret in the eyes. “Margaret, I don’t know how to deal with what has been happening to me lately.”  
Margaret felt her heart jump into her throat. ‘Oh my god. Is he sick? Did he start drinking? Taking pills? What is wrong?’ “Okay. Tell me.”  
“I can’t sleep at night. I can’t focus. I can’t think. My heart races for no reason and I can’t breathe. My head swims, my eyes get watery, my hands shake.”  
He raised his right hand before his face and watched it tremble. Margaret let out a soft cry and even though they were in public, she reached out to take his trembling hand in hers.  
“Leo. What is wrong? Are you sick, ill? Are you…” she asked softly.  
“Margaret…I…”  
Just then Alan brought dinner to the table, putting a plate of crab cakes with still sizzling golden brown fries in front of Leo and sliding Margaret’s salad with the fragrant salmon in front of her. They both inhaled and sighed and then looked at each other and smiled.  
“Can we eat first,” Leo asked?  
“Sure. That looks good. Can I steal a fry,” she asked reaching across the table? Leo picked up a few and passed them to her. She took a bite and grinned.” Those are good.”  
“They season them. I love them, but don’t get them all the time,” he said as he cut a chunk of crab cake, dipped in the tartare sauce and chewed as he watched Margaret tuck in to her salad. This they are comfortable with. They have eaten hundreds of meals together over the twelve years they have known each other. But then the food is gone and the heavy silence at the table seems even more subdued in the busy restaurant.  
The waiter removed their plates and refilled their drinks. They sat and stared at their drinks and waited for the other to speak. Finally, Leo can’t stand it and raises his eyes to Margaret’s. He jumped a little when he realized that she had been watching him for a while.  
“Uhm…I…oh God, I don’t…know…” He struggled to say what was in his heart but he had buried his feelings for so long, first as he and Jenny imploded, then after the divorce and now with Margaret, that he just couldn’t say the words. He forgot how. He had forgotten how to be with someone on a personal level. He had locked that part of himself away for so long that he had no idea how to be…just a man talking to a woman. He wanted to talk to her so badly; to tell her how he felt, how much he loved her, how much he...desired her...  
Margaret was no fool, far from it. She knew, had figured out, she thought, what was happening here. In the last hour it had begun to creep into her thoughts. Unbelieving, at first, but now, the look on his face…she knew. He loved her, loved her back. Like she loved him. Wanted him. She could see the torment on his face. Could see the fear and indecision that had been plaguing him for weeks. The same fear and indecision that had been plaguing her as well.  
“I do, you know.”  
“What?”  
“What you are wondering.”  
“What am I wondering?”  
“What has been making you act like a crazed stalker weirdo.”  
“A crazed…what the hell.”  
“I know.”  
“No. You don’t.”  
“I do.”  
“NO. You don’t.”  
“I DO.”  
“Shhhh.”  
“You shhhh. Cause I know.”  
“You can’t.”  
“I can and do. It’s all over your face.”  
He rubbed his face and shook his head. “No.”  
“Yes.”  
“You can’t possibly know. I don’t know. I think I know, but I am not sure, if it’s just some weird phenomenon, or a dream, or senility or indigestion, fer God’s sake…”  
“I love you.”  
“…It’s just that for a long time, ya know, I have been thinking about how, ya know, we have known each other a long…what did you say?”  
“You know what I said. You heard me. You have been rambling on about God knows what and you are driving me crazy and…”  
“I love you too.”  
“…if you don’t stop acting this way…what?”  
“You heard me.”  
“I did. You do?”  
“Yeah. You do too?”  
“Wow. Uh…”  
“Yeah.”  
“Yeah.”  
They sat and looked at each other. Leo reached out and took her hand in his. Margaret sighed and squeezed his hand back. The smiled at each other, wondering what was next. Where did this go. It was all fine and dandy to say I love you and have it reciprocated, but what the hell did they do about it.  
The waiter came with the bill and after several attempts to get Leo’s attention he left it on the table. He and Margaret continued to stare at each other, oblivious to the room around them. Leo slid on the booth seat and stood up, moved to Margaret’s side of the table and slid in next to her without letting go of her hand or breaking eye contact. He shifted closer until his thigh was pressed against hers. Then he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her temple.  
“Leo. You can’t…in public…you kissed…no.”  
Leo motioned the waiter over and handed him his credit card. He pulled out his cell phone and just said “Ready” and then hung up. When the waiter came back with his card he scrawled his signature, threw down the pen, grabbed his card and her hand. ”C’mon. Let’s get outta here.” Leo dragged her out of the restaurant by the hand to the amusement of more than a few patrons. Outside, his car and Eddie were waiting with the door open. Leo slid into the car dragging Margaret with him.

Inside the car, Leo turned to Margaret, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to his chest. She gasped. Leo stared at her open mouth and leaned in to cover her open mouth with his own. In seconds their tongues wound around each other. Leo stroked the roof of Margaret’s mouth as she clung to him, her heart pounding in her chest. Leo started to break the kiss but Margaret lightly bit his lower lip and pushed her tongue back into his mouth. Leo wrapped his arms around her and held the back of her head as he plundered her mouth. Margaret whimpered and Leo groaned deep in his throat when her arms reached around him and she grasped his head in both hands, tangling her fingers in his hair.  
Leo pulled back abruptly from Margaret when the sound of a heavily cleared throat broke through his foggy, addled thoughts. He lifted his eyes to see Eddie’s amused look in the rearview mirror. “Uh, where to, sir?”  
“Just drive Eddie, anywhere,” Leo grunted when Margaret latched on to his neck and not too gently bit him, hard, and sucked the flesh.  
“Ohhhh, god..” Leo groaned as he fell back onto the car seat. He reached around and grabbed Margaret’s hips and pulled into his lap. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her face back to his lips as his right hand slid up her thigh and under the skirt of her business suit to rest on her hip. Leo busied himself with relentlessly pillaging her mouth, her lips her tongue, until neither of them could do more than gasp and groan.  
Ten minutes later the car came to a stop and Leo sat up. “Eddie?”  
“Yes sir. I have parked in the lot off Maine by the tidal basin that looks across to the Jefferson. I am going to stretch my legs. I’ll be back soon,” Eddie said as he got out of the car and wandered off down the parking lot.  
Margaret sat up and pulled at her clothing then surprised Leo by opening the door and getting out of the car. Leo followed her as she walked past the refreshment kiosk by the entrance and walked down to the water on the footpath. She leaned up against the fence railing and gazed across the water to the Jefferson Memorial. She watched the lights of the memorial as they fractured and rippled on the surface of the water. Leo walked up and stood beside her.  
“What are we doing, Leo?”  
He gazed out across the water afraid to look at her. “What do you mean?”  
“What have we done? What are we going to do? Do you think it will be simple, easy, for us to just start having a relationship? It’s not possible, Leo.”  
Leo took Margaret’s hand and pulled her over to a bench by the footpath. He sat down and pulled her down next to him. He sat back on the bench and put his arm around her, pulling her close.  
“I know it won’t be easy. It will be very difficult; it will be…” He cupped her chin and turned her face to his. He wanted to look in her eyes. “Margaret, I love you. I have for a long time. You are sweet and kind and smart and giving and loopy and quirky and desperately exasperating and I love every nuance of your personality. You are sexy and pretty and your smile has saved me more times than I count.”  
He shifted and took her face in his hands so she could not turn away. “I want it to be hard. I want to earn your love…”  
“Leo, you don’t have to…”  
“Please, let me finish. I have loved you since you walked into my office and took over my life twelve years ago. I have been in love with you since the day my divorce papers came to the office. On that day, I knew it was final, over, for me and Jenny. And there you were, as always, caring and worrying and… I knew I loved you Margaret.”  
“Leo, I am your secretary…no, let me finish now. You are wealthy and powerful and amazing. You are a well-known man in this city, a connoisseur of fine restaurants and opera and theater, erudite and witty, sought after…and I am just Margaret Hooper, secretary, meek and mousy and…”  
Leo burst out laughing. “Meek and mousy my… Margaret, meek you are not. My chewed up ass is an example of your so called meekness. There is no one in D.C. who can do what you do. And mousy? Hell no Mag’s. You are gorgeous and vibrant and so smart and funny and full of life.”  
“Leo, you should have a woman on your arm who is equal to you, someone you can be proud…”  
Leo grabbed both of her hands and brought them to his lips. “Stop it. I mean it. Right now. Just don’t. Margaret, you are my equal…you are my better half. God, you are so smart, so beautiful, so caring and generous…okay, your taste in jokes is questionable…but…”  
Margaret laughed and dropped her head. “I do love you Leo. I have for many years. I am in love with you. But…”  
“NO BUTS. You know more about everything than anyone I ever met. You are so knowledgeable about the ballet and politics and just everything… Margaret, I just don’t have the words right now to tell you how much you mean to me. I would never think that having you on my arm would be less than amazing. I would be proud and honored and…”  
“It’s going to be ugly, Leo. You know that. I am close to 20 years younger than you. You are my direct boss. We will appear to be as different as cheese and chalk and …our history…there will be speculation…”  
“I love you. Love doesn’t ask who’s older, who works for whom, which side of the tracks you came from or now inhabit. I would never have gotten where I am today without you. You do know that, right? Your advice is invaluable, your thoughts and insights have helped to make decisions I have struggled with because you are smart and wise.”  
“I know it will be hard and I don’t care.”  
“You should.”  
“I don’t, I won’t, because in the end my dear, what do any of us have in this life except love and hope. Where we are right now won’t last long and I, we, will have given up years of togetherness, years of love, for what? No. Let them say what they will. Not too long ago I would have agreed that we must hide and slink and keep us a secret, or even worse, I would never have told you about my feelings.”  
“So what has changed Leo? Will you change your mind and decide that loving me is too much trouble, not worth the bother? Why now?”  
Leo sighed. “You know what happened with my friend Kenny?”  
Margaret nodded and grasped Leo’s hands.  
“He saved my life, we worked together, he was one of my closest friends and in the end he let me down, he did wrong, and thought I would cover for him. I couldn’t. I have lost his friendship.”  
Leo sighed. “Margaret, I have trusted people who have turned on me. I have given my soul and had it returned. I loved a woman who in the end walked away because I was not worth the effort. You have never turned away from me, you have always been there. You have been here for years, quietly doing what you do with no thanks from me or anyone. Jesus, Margaret, what you have done for me was never in anyone’s job description, let alone yours, but you did it anyway. My god, I love you so much. I don’t want to spend another day with you not knowing how much I care; how much I need you.”  
Margaret leaned forward and gently kissed Leo and then rested her forehead on his. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she sat back and met his eyes. “I love you so much Leo. I want to be with you, be a part of your life, be the woman you come home to. If you can handle the chaos that will come our way, I can too. As long as we do this together.”  
Leo stood and pulled her to her feet, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “C’mon, let’s find Eddie and go home.”  
When they got back to the car Eddie was still gone. Leo pulled Margaret around to the front of the car. He sat back on the hood and pulled Margaret into him, her back nestled against his chest. They looked out over the water as Leo kissed her neck and nuzzled his face in her hair. She lay her head back on his shoulder and sighed and Leo just held her as they waited.  
Leo heard footsteps and turned around. He grinned when he saw Eddie quietly returning to the car. “Everything okay sir?”  
“Everything is perfect Eddie.” Eddie opened the car door and Leo helped Margaret into the car and then followed her in. He sat back and pulled her into his arms.  
“Where to, Mr. McGarry?”  
“My place. Take us home Eddie.”

TBC…


	3. Whats Next

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margaret looked from CJ to Leo and back again, then a look of horror crossed her face as she realized what had happened. “Holy shit.”

What’s Next?  
Leo/Margaret  
Disclaimer: Not mine…Aaron et al owns ‘em.  
MATURE-

 

“Leo is in Chicago. He had a few days of meetings with the DNC and then a dinner for a retiring State Senator. Why do you care so much about where Leo is, Danny?”  
“Is he alone?”  
“What the hell do you care? What the heck, Danny?”  
“Did Leo take anyone with him to Chicago?”  
CJ glared at Danny like he had grown two heads. “What business is it of yours if Leo took staff with him to Chicago? He is allowed…just what is…”  
“CJ. Did Margaret go to Chicago with Leo?”  
“Yeeessss…”  
“Okay.” Danny stood up from the chair across from CJ’s desk and headed for the door.  
“Oh no, fish boy. Get back here,” CJ warned as she grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked him away from the door and then slammed it shut. She shoved him back in the chair he had just vacated and loomed over him.  
“What are you playing at, Danny?”  
“Ha. I am not the one who is ‘playing’, CJ.” He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a photo and handed it to her. In the photo stood a couple, arms around each other, kissing. In the background lay the Chicago skyline, visible behind them from where they stood against a railing at the far end of Navy Pier. To anyone who knew them, it was obvious. The couple were Leo and Margaret. And the kiss was far from platonic.  
CJ fell into her chair staring at the photo. “Shit.” She tossed the photo back towards Danny. “Who has this?”  
“Some cub reporter from the Tribune. He recognized Leo as he and Margaret strolled down Navy Pier together. He didn’t think anything of it. He just wanted to get a photo of the famous Leo McGarry. Then Leo stopped and laid one on Margaret and the reporter about shit a brick. Apparently there are a few more photos and the kiss gets a LOT more passionate.”  
“Damn him.”  
“I am guessing he knows, too. The reporter was so surprised that he tripped over a bench taking the pictures and Leo and Margaret saw him when he got up and ran.”  
“Okay. Danny? When?”  
“I am gonna guess soon. An editor at the Trib is an old classmate. He may get us up to 48 hours, but this is gonna hit the papers soon.”  
“Okay. Thanks Danny.”  
“Hey. For what it’s worth, I say good for them. They are both good people and God knows everyone deserves a chance at happiness. But this is news and I am gonna have to go with it when it looks like it is gonna hit.”  
“I know. Thanks for the heads up.” Danny threw her a grin and got up and left.  
“CAROL,” CJ yelled through the open door.  
“You screamed?”  
“Shut up. When is Leo due back?”  
“His flight lands this afternoon. 2:00 I think.”  
“Thanks.”  
“Is there a problem, CJ?”  
“Yeah.”

Leo swept into the bullpen on his way through to his office with his coattails swinging behind him. CJ knew he was coming and she moved right in next to him, stride for stride. He looked up at her in surprise. “What do ya need, CJ?”  
“Your office.”  
“What is it? I am in kinda…”  
“Your office.”  
“Not now CJ…  
“Chicago. Navy Pier.”  
Leo slammed on the brakes and CJ plowed into him. They stood there glaring at each other for an intense fifteen seconds then with a nod from Leo, continued on to his office in silence. They swept past a startled Margaret. She was just hanging her coat and getting ready to sit in her chair when Leo bellowed her name from within the office. “Come in here please.” She leapt to her feet, grabbed her notebook and flew into the office.  
CJ stepped up and motioned to the door she just entered. “Close it.”  
Leo dropped his briefcase on the floor and tossed his coat on the table. He went to the couch and dropped onto it. He locked eyes with Margaret and tipped his head. “Sit over here Margaret.”  
“With you? On the couch? But…”  
“Margaret,” he growled. “Yes. Sit with me. CJ,” he inclined his head to the chair by the right side of the couch. He sat back and let his head fall to the back of the couch. Then he did the completely unexpected and took Margaret’s hand and held it in his lap.  
“Leo,” Margaret said with a nervous giggle?  
“Okay CJ. Who has it and what is it?”  
“A photo.”  
Margaret looked from CJ to Leo and back again, then a look of horror crossed her face as she realized what had happened. “Holy shit.”  
Leo laughed out loud and CJ was shocked at the expletive Margaret ground out. “Yeah. Holy shit.”  
“So. How long,” CJ asked as she sat back in her chair and watched them?  
Leo sighed, remembering that night four months ago in Old Ebbitt’s where they had confessed their love for each other. “Almost four months. That is four months ago we finally told each other how we felt. But I have, we both have, been in love a lot longer than that. We have been living together for over three months now.”  
“Really. That long. Wow. And no one figured it out?” CJ just shook her head.  
“No. No close calls, no furtive sneaking around to avoid reporters…we have just been living our lives, going out to dinner, walks in the park…of course most of that is outside the beltway…but still. We have not really tried to hide it, CJ. If anyone had asked, we would have told the truth.”  
“So, just what is your relationship, just so I know where you are?”  
Leo and Margaret looked at each other and smiled. That smile that lovers share, that smile that two people in love share, that knowing smile that two people who know each other intimately share. That smile told CJ all she needed to know, but she kept silent.  
“Lovers, friends, colleagues, companions, partners…a whole slew of adjectives, CJ. We are many things, but mostly, just two people in love. It’s pretty simple,” Leo said, his eyes never leaving Margaret’s.  
“Margaret?”  
She smiled at Leo and then at CJ. “I love him with all my heart, CJ. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. It really is that simple.”  
CJ nodded. “Does anyone else know?”  
“The President and Abbey, Charlie and Mallory. I think she has told Jenny, but I haven’t asked, and won’t. Obviously, Ron knows, as does my detail. They have known since the very beginning.” Leo grinned and looked at Margaret. “I think they knew before we did.”  
Margaret blushed and laughed, agreeing with the statement.  
“Okay. Uhm, I saw the picture. Danny has a copy. He brought it to my attention. He has a friend on the Tribune staff who will give us up to 48 hours, but it could be sooner.”  
“I should have known. It was that kid who tripped on the bench, wasn’t it?”  
“Yup. Just a new kid, just looking to get a pic of the great Leo McGarry. Looks like he hit the jackpot.”  
Leo grimaced. “Yeah. I thought we were pretty safe in Chicago at the end of the pier. Oh well. We knew we had to come out sooner or later. Just looks like it’s sooner.”  
“You better talk to the President. I need to fill in…”  
“Let me talk to Josh and Toby and Sam. Better from the horse’s mouth, and all.”  
“Horse’s ass, if you ask me,” CJ mumbled to herself, but caught the glare from Leo. She was happy for them. How could you not be? Two people that she liked had found love, something she had not been able to do. She was glad someone here had found it. It was just that when one of the parties was Leo McGarry and the other his secretary who was, what, at least fifteen years younger than him…it was gonna be a shit storm.  
“Okay. I think we all need to meet later. I have a bunch of calls to make and maybe some markers to cash…”  
“CJ, don’t give up the house. Don’t call in too many markers. We might need them for something more sensational than an old man falling in love.” He pulled Margaret to him and kissed her, letting her know he thought it was pretty sensational.

Josh, Toby, Sam plus Donna, Carol, Bonnie and Ginger filed into Leo’s office an hour later. Margaret was sitting in Leo’s chair by the couch. The chair no one but Leo sat in. Leo indicated that the assistants should sit on the couch and the guys took their usual places around the office. Leo paced the floor a few times, then planted his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets.  
“Okay. In the next 48 hours a story is gonna hit. I do not intend to spin this story. I will not allow it. The truth will be told and that will be the end of all discussion on the topic. I know speculation will run rampant and the past will be brought up on several fronts. I do not care.”  
Leo paced again, then looked at Margaret and smiled. He turned to the group in the room. “Margaret and I have been in an intimate, romantic and sexual relationship for just over four months. We have been living together for just about three months. I have asked Margaret to marry me and we have been quietly planning a summer wedding. Questions?”  
Donna and the other assistants looked like they wanted to explode with questions, while Toby looked angry, Josh confused and Sam looked like he wanted to go out and buy linens. Josh shook his head and uttered a slightly incoherent, “Wha?” Leo grunted and waved his arms. “Fine. Get outta here. Go back to work.”

Leo knocked on the door to the Oval and entered when the President bellowed “Come in.” Leo walked over to his desk and sat in the chair to the right of the President. He lowered his head, took a breath and looked his best friend in the eye. “The press found out about me and Margaret.”  
“Ah, damn,” the President sighed. “How?”  
“My fault,” Leo groaned. “I took her to Navy Pier. She has always wanted to eat at that fish place there. After dinner we walked down the pier, all the way to the end. When you turn around you can see the whole city sprawled out before you. I took her in my arms and kissed her. Some cub reporter recognized me and got it on camera.”  
“So, you couldn’t wait…”  
“Yeah. No, I couldn’t. The evening was beautiful, I had a beautiful woman at my side, what man could resist.” Leo shot his friend a grin.  
“Yeah.”  
They sat in a companionable silence for a while until Charlie came in with some papers. “Uh, I heard, Mr. McGarry. Sorry that it came out this way,” Charlie said as he handed the papers to the President.  
“Thanks, Charlie. I will be in later sir. I am having another expanded staff meeting at 7:00. CJ is making some calls.”  
“Have it here. I am going to let Abbey know too.”  
Leo nodded as he slowly strolled back to his office deep in thought.

“CJ, CJ, CJ,” erupted around her as soon as she looked up from the podium. The 6:00 briefing was turning out to be a zoo and CJ had a sinking suspicion in her gut that she was not going to like this. Every seat was filled and Danny was looking at her with no expression at all on his face. ‘Shit,’ she groaned to herself. She looked at Danny again who was simply sitting in his seat while everyone else was clamoring for her attention.  
“I can see that you all seem to have something on your minds this fine evening. Chris?”  
‘Here it comes,’ CJ thought.  
“Can you comment on a series of photos that have hit the Chicago Tribune online news service in the past few hours showing Leo McGarry and his secretary kissing on Navy Pier?” Chris sat down with a satisfied smirk.  
‘Yup. There it was.’ “Mr. McGarry and his lead assistant were in Chicago this past few days, but I am not up to speed on any photos that may have been taken of them. Let me say…”

While CJ jousted with the press Leo and Margaret sat in his office and watched the press briefing. Leo reached out and held Margaret’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Well, Maggie my dear, looks like the cat is outta the bag.”  
“Yeah. Well, it would have had to come out by the wedding anyway,” Margaret sighed. Leo shifted on the couch and pulled Margaret into his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder as he rubbed her back. They both jumped when the President walked into the room unannounced. Margaret slid back onto the couch.  
“Hey you two. Don’t think just because everyone knows about you now that you can play hanky-panky in the office.”  
“Really sir, does anyone use the term hanky-panky anymore,” Leo drawled as he held onto Margaret so she couldn’t get up?  
“Well, I do. And I am an erudite man who feels the need to use expressive phrases and terms to fully paint…”  
“Oh Merciful God,” Leo groaned as he dropped his head onto Margaret’s shoulder.  
“Leo, it would behoove you…”  
“Sir. Please.”  
The President chuckled, having gotten the response he was looking for. “Okay. Get back to work.”  
“Yes sir,” Margaret called to his departing back as she jumped to her feet.

CJ strode into Leo’s office and plopped into the chair next to the couch. She blew out an exasperated breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. After a few minutes she looked at Leo who was patiently waiting for her to talk.  
“If I wasn’t so happy for you and Margaret I’d pummel both of you. That bunch in there are piranhas. They are out for blood. This had to happen in a slow news cycle. Geez, it’s the only news going on right now and they have pounced on it. You two are gonna need to go into exile.”  
Leo raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. “CJ. Don’t spin it. Don’t deny it. Don’t try to make it what it isn’t. We knew this would happen. We are okay with it. We have done nothing wrong. Just tell the truth and hopefully World War Three commences and they will forget about us.”  
CJ chuckled. “That’s about what it will take. Okay. Hang in there. I will see you later?”  
“Yeah.”

Eddie pulled onto 29th St NW street where Leo and Margaret’s Federalist style townhome was located. When he turned onto 29th from P he could see dozens of cars lining the street and people milling around. “Mr. McGarry?”  
“Yeah Eddie…oh crap,” he said when he saw what Eddie was seeing. “The press.”  
“Oh, no,” Margaret sighed when she peered through the windshield and saw the crowd. “How the hell did they find us this quickly?”  
“What do you want to do sir?”  
“Damnit. I have my spare bag in the trunk for unexpected visits to Mallory’s or the Residence but I don’t think you have anything with you do you, Maggie?”  
“No. I don’t. What are we going to do? I don’t particularly want to deal with all those people now. But even if we went to a hotel I wouldn’t have any clothes.”  
“Eddie? Could we get an agent to come and get Margaret some stuff if we went to the Watergate? You have keys. Margaret could make a list.”  
Margaret was nodding. “Yes. That would work.”  
“Yes sir. Watergate it is and I will get an agent here as soon as we have a list.”  
“You better add to the list too, Leo. You don’t have a fresh suit in the trunk.”  
“Good idea. Will that be possible, Eddie?”  
“I’m on it, sir.”  
Minutes later Eddie pulled up in front of the Watergate. Leo helped Margaret out of the backseat and they wasted no time getting inside. Leo strode up to the reception desk and saw a friendly face standing there.  
“Mr. McGarry. We have missed you.”  
“Thank you, James. How have you been? Still can’t get the day shift, huh?”  
James smiled, surprised that Leo remembered. “I am trying sir. My girlfriend has been pushing and I think I may get it soon.”  
“Good for you, James. Look, do you have a room for a few days? We are laying low…”  
“I saw the news. I am sorry, sir. But congratulations too,” he said as he nodded to Margaret.  
“No worries, James. Just a nice room, a suite if available, would be good.”  
Well, your old penthouse suite is free for the next few weeks, if you wish?”  
Leo and Margaret smiled at each other, then Leo nodded at James. “Perfect.”

An hour and a half later Leo and Margaret were lounging on the sofa in front of the TV in Watergate terry robes, waiting for their things. Leo was getting impatient when there was a knock at the door.  
A female agent came into the room lugging a suitcase, a duffle bag and a large garment bag. She dropped everything on the end of the sofa. “I am sorry that took so long, sir. Once the press saw us go in and come out with the luggage, more than a few thought they would follow us and see where we lead them. We had a merry chase through the streets. Fortunately, we lost them, with a little help from some barricades and fake roadwork.” She gave them both a big grin.  
“Good job,” Leo laughed as he picked up the suitcase and garment bag and headed for the bedroom. Margaret followed with the duffle bag. After they had changed, Leo into flannel pants and a plain sweatshirt and Margaret into cotton drawstring pants and a long sleeve t shirt, he placed a room service order for a light meal.  
Margaret poured tonic and lemon for them both as the food arrived. Leo had ordered two grilled salmon salads and two bowls of crab bisque. Margaret raised an eyebrow at the rich cream bisque, but since he had ordered himself a salad, she let it go. Since they had been co-habiting Margaret had done her darnedest to get Leo on a healthy diet and the change was working.  
Since he was eating more often yet healthier he had lost a few pounds but was gaining tone and muscle, especially from the daily workouts she imposed. His blood pressure was down and his cholesterol was better than it had been in twenty years. Leo grudgingly admitted he had never felt better.  
“We won’t be eating like this very often, Leo, so enjoy it,” Margaret chided as she watched Leo lick his soup spoon.  
“Spoilsport. You’d convert us to veganism if you didn’t love fish and chicken so much.”  
“That’s very true, but cream soups are a treat. Just remember that.”  
After dinner Leo piled the dirty dishes onto the room service cart and slid it into the hall. Margaret went into the bedroom to iron her clothes for tomorrow that were wrinkled from the agents hasty packing. Leo scrunched into the corner of the sofa watching CNN and flipping through a briefing book.  
CJ’s press conference came on again and he flipped the channel in disgust. He turned off the TV when nothing grabbed his attention. Margaret came back out and sat next to him on the sofa. He pulled her close with his arm around her shoulder so she could rest her head on his chest.  
“Sorry about this mess. I shouldn’t have kissed you in Chicago…well, at least not in public. You were so beautiful…”  
Margaret leaned up to kiss him lightly. “Eventually someone was going to see us and put two and two together.” She kissed Leo again, this time with intent. “We are in a hotel, Leo. A really nice hotel. With a great big king bed…”  
Leo growled into her neck and nibbled behind her ear. “I love hotel sex…”  
“Me too.”  
“We should have it more often,” Margaret whispered as she snuggled close to Leo and ran her hand over his chest, reaching up behind his head so she could guide his mouth to hers. Leo sighed as they kissed; long, deep searching kisses that they both loved. “God, I could kiss you forever,” he groaned into her mouth.  
“Okay.” And he proceeded to just that. Leo felt kissing was the most intimate, trusting, revealing act of love and he was damn good at it. Margaret melted in his arms as they traded tongue tangling kisses on the sofa until they could barely breathe. Leo pulled her close and dropped his mouth to her neck, just under the corner of her jaw, that spot, there, the one that brought goosebumps to her skin. That spot where he could feel her pulse under his tongue and lips. That spot that made her nipples harden and her breath quicken.  
“Sofa or bed,” Leo groaned as he shifted on the sofa.  
“Bed,” Margaret said as she moved away from Leo, stood, grabbed his hand and dragged him into the bedroom.

Leo opened his eyes, one at a time, squinting a little at the sunlight that flooded the room and smiled when he found Margaret’s face a mere inch from his own. With the slightest of movements, he leaned and kissed her lips gently. He kissed her again, and again, then once more when her eyes fluttered open. “Hi sleepyhead,” he grinned as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.  
“Oh God, what time is it?”  
Leo lifted his head to look over her shoulder to the clock on the bedside table. “Five o’clock.”  
Margaret groaned and snuggled deeper into Leo’s body, pulling the sheet and comforter up around her neck. “I need thirty more minutes, Leo. Go back to sleep.”  
Leo chuckled and pulled her even closer, wrapping his arms around her. “I was thinking…maybe a little morning love, my dear,” he said as he nuzzled his face into her neck.  
Margaret snorted and lifted her head. “You had enough ‘love’ last night to last you a week, you insatiable animal.” She dropped her head back onto his shoulder and snuggled in. “I need sleep.”  
“Sleep is highly overrated, love. Morning sex, on the other hand, is right up at the top of the list of …”  
Margaret growled and stopped his comment with her hand over his mouth. Leo chuckled and pulled her tight against his body. “Okay,” he muttered under her hand. I’ll shut up now. Go to sleep baby.”

An hour later Margaret yawned and stretched and turned onto her other side. She wiggled back against Leo, who in his sleep pulled her tight up against him. He moaned into her hair as he slowly wakened. He nuzzled Margaret’s neck and sighed. “Time to get up?”  
Margaret opened her eyes and looked at the clock. Shit. “Uh, it’s six Leo.”  
“Ok.” He wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer then it hit him. “What? Crap. Dammit. Shit, we are gonna be…”  
“Late. And now everyone will know why,” Margaret complained as he jumped out of bed. She sat up on the edge of the bed and watched as he stopped in his tracks then turned and walked back to her. He stood in front of her and pulled her to her feet. Nose to nose he looked her in the eye.  
“Are you okay with that? I know we talked about it. Eventually…”  
Margaret dropped her forehead to his and sighed.  
“I am okay with it. I love you Leo. We are getting married. I don’t care if people know why we are ‘late’. It is not going to be easy though. They are going to crucify you.”  
Leo pulled her close and rubbed her back. He kissed her and laid her head on his shoulder. He whispered into her ear. “As long as you love me, I can handle anything. Let ‘em come at me. I made it through the addiction shit, I made it through a lot of other stuff. This is nothing. We did nothing wrong. As a matter of fact, we did everything right, baby.”

It took far too long for Leo’s car to get through the crowd of people gathered at the entrance to the OEOB. He had told Eddie to take them there, rather than the main White House entrance, hoping that there would be no reporters, but that was not the case. A multitude of flashes lit the interior of the car as photographers tried to capture a candid shot of Leo and Margaret.  
They sat side by side holding hands and looked straight ahead as Eddie maneuvered the car up to the entrance. There was no way they were going to turn around and try another entrance so Leo looked at Margaret with a questioning look. She nodded and squeezed his hand.  
“Okay Eddie. This is it.” Eddie got out and opened the driver’s side rear door. As two guards stepped up to hold back the crowd, Leo exited the car. He turned to hold out his hand to Margaret as she slid out of the car. Eddie reached in and grabbed both their briefcases and handed them over. Leo grabbed them both, then took Margaret’s hand and led her to the entry gate, completely ignoring the shouted questions from the reporters.  
The walked through the gate, followed the parking lot around to the outdoor pool where Leo changed course and pulled Margaret onto the lawn. They walked across the grass to the path that led to the portico and the entrance into Debbie and Charlies office area.  
Charlie and Debbie both lifted their heads at the intrusion and both smiled when they saw the harried chief of staff and his secretary. Leo stared them both down and just held up his hand. “Don’t.” Then he grabbed Margaret’s hand and led her to his office. He dropped the briefcases on the floor and went around the room slamming all the doors. He threw his coat on the table then helped Margaret out of her coat which joined his on the table. He stepped up to her, slid his arms around her waist, pulled her close and sighed.  
Margaret reached up and slid her arms around his neck and sighed into his neck. They just stood and breathed. And hugged. Until the door to the Oval opened and the President sauntered into the room. They didn’t move.  
“You guys okay,” he asked as he stepped over to the couch and sat down?  
They both nodded. Leo moved back and kissed Margaret, then they hugged, hard, once more. She stepped back.  
“Good morning, Mr. President.” She looked at Leo and then she went through the door to her office, gently closing it behind her.  
Leo finally moved, taking a seat in chair by the window. He sighed as he relaxed into the chair and just stared at his friend.  
“Is she okay?”  
“Yeah. Nervous. Scared for me. But, yeah…”  
“She’s a hell of a woman.”  
“Yeah,” Leo agreed with a smile.  
“Gotta be to put up with an old fart like you. Grumpy, cantankerous, pain in the…”  
“I get it, SIR.”  
Jed chuckled. “She loves you. She really loves you.”  
“I really love her,” Leo said softly.  
Jed’s head came up and he locked eyes with Leo. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you say that. I mean, I know you love her. It’s obvious. But you have never said it out loud.”  
Leo looked at his hands. “I tell her every day, many times a day, how much I love her. I learned my lesson on that. Never let her think that she is not the most important thing in my life.”  
“Is she?”  
Leo looked hard at his friend. Jed could see the pain in Leo’s eyes. He and Jenny were both moving on. He knew Leo loved Margaret, but he could see the regret in his eyes. The pain. The memories.  
Leo nodded slowly. “Yeah. She is. This job is just that. A job. I love it. I love every minute of it. I am so proud of what we are doing here, but in the end, it is over in another year, or five. We will all walk out of here and start again.” Leo rubbed his face and looked up at his President.  
“I have reached the top. I go no further than this. Yeah, maybe I’ll work with the committee, lecture, even thought of taking that position at Georgetown they have been bugging me about. I don’t want to walk out of here a lonely old man.”  
Leo turned his head and looked at the door to Margaret’s office. He looked back at Jed and smiled. “And now I don’t have to. And I am not going to jeopardize that for nuthin’.”  
Jed smiled back. “So. Georgetown? Really?”  
“Yeah. I have been offered the department head position. Political Science Department. They want me to come and revamp the whole curriculum. I could have the chance to shape the education of thousands of young people, the future.”  
Jed cocked his head at Leo. “And that appeals to you?”  
Leo smiled. “Yeah. It does. Teaching scares me a little, but the chance to create a world class Poly-sci forum for education…that excites me.”  
The President stood and looked at his friend. They locked eyes and smiled, then the President slowly walked back into the oval. Leo watched him go, then stood and yelled. “Margaret.”  
She burst through the door with a fistful of messages and placed a stack of files on his desk. “Staff in ten. Then meetings all morning. Lunch with Mallory. Senator Dickson has already called twice; he needs to meet with you this afternoon on the house resolution he is sponsoring.” She stopped and looked up as Leo came over and took the messages. He held her hand and looked in her eyes. “Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes, Margaret.”  
She smiled back at him. “You bet yer ass, Leo.”


End file.
